The tax which will be paid for the purpose of education is not more than the
thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests, and nobles who will
rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance. -- Thomas Jefferson,
third US president, architect and author (1743-1826).

Missoula-based Rivertop Renewables secures $1.5M investmentThe latest investment from Cultivian Ventures, a $34-million venture capital fund that focuses its investments on high-technology opportunities in the food and agricultural sectors, will help in that effort, said Jason Kiely, the Missoula company's vice president of marketing and administration.

Karina Edmonds: A New Tech Transfer Advocate at DOEWith unemployment affecting 9 percent of Americans and politicians of both parties talking constantly about the need for jobs, an important but neglected directive in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is finally getting the attention it deserves.

Careers

RentAStudent connects startups with hungry, eager students"A lot of businesses are struggling now to get all the work they need done with small budgets, and a lot of students are looking for ways to get exposure." RentAStudent CEO Morgan Dierstein told VentureBeat. "We help both parties connect."

Dave McClure's 10 tips for the perfect investment pitch"If you're constructing a way to present your story, you should be aware that most investors have small attention spans", says McClure. "They may be late to the meeting, they may be reading other stuff on their iPhone. So you want to organize your information in a way that allows them to process it more efficiently".

McKinsey Says Big Data Can Change The Way Business Operates"Over time, we believe big data may well become a new type of corporate asset that will cut across business units and function much as a powerful brand does, representing a key basis for competition. If that's right, companies need to start thinking in earnest about whether they are organized to exploit big data's potential and to manage the threats it can pose. Success will demand not only new skills but also new perspectives on how the era of big data could evolve--the widening circle of management practices it may affect and the foundation it represents for new, potentially disruptive business models..."

Google+ expands, offers pages to businessesIn a blog post, Vic Gundotra, Google senior vice president of engineering, said the company wants "to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about -- from local businesses to global brands."

North Dakota only state to report positive economic growth Bloomberg also reported that North Dakota was the only state in the nation to experience a positive economic index. With the exception of North Dakota, economic conditions in all other states are worse than they were at the end of 2008, according to the study.

Drivers Generate Electricity With Speed Bumps"New Energy can offset the city's cost of operating traffic control devices, such as traffic signals and street lights," said Mark Jamison, Roanoke's Transportation manager. "This innovative partnership with New Energy Technologies has the potential to provide a more sustainable environment, while simultaneously conserving strained budgets of cities across the nation."